The now standard, general work of Alan F.J. Artibise, Winnipeg: A Social and Economic History, 1874-1914 (Montreal: McGill-Oueen's University Press, 1975) is an excellent place to obtain an introduction to the history of the city. It might profitably be supplemented by the same author's recent study, with its many excellent illustrations, Winnipeg: An Illustrated History (Toronto: James Lorimer; (Ottawa) National Museum of Man, National Museums of Canada, 1977). A lively and colourful account of the early years of this century is James H. Gray, The Boy from Winnipeg (Toronto: Macmillan, 1970).
The best accounts of Winnipeg's working class may be found in David Bercuson, Confrontation at Winnipeg (Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1974) and A. Ross McCormack, Reformers, Rebels and Revolutionaries (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1977).
There is a wide variety of ethnic literature concerning Winnipeg. Some of the better examples are Victor Turek, Poles in Manitoba (Toronto: Polish Research Institute in Canada, 1967), Arthur Chiel, The Jews in Manitoba (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1961) and Paul Yuzyk, The Ukrainian in Manitoba (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1953). A British view of the ethnic "problem" may be found in J.S. Woodsworth, Strangers Within Our Gates (Toronto: F.C. Stephenson,1909) and W.J. Sisler, Peaceful Invasion (Winnipeg: Ketchen Printing Co., 1944). A recent, well-illustrated study of the Jewish immigrant experience in the West is Harry Gutkin, Journey into Our Heritage: The Story of the Jewish People in the Canadian West (Toronto: Lester and Orpen Dennys, 1980). The National Film Board of Canada has prepared a film, The Jews of Winnipeg (0173 155), which recounts the experiences of a cross section of Jewish immigrants.
Much can be learned about the ethnic working-class experience from novels which are set in Winnipeg. Especially useful and interesting are John Marlyn, Under the Ribs of Death (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1957, 1964), Adele Wiseman, The Sacrifice (Toronto: Macmillan, 1956, 1977), Ralph Connor, The Foreigner (New York: Hodder and Stoughton, G.H. Doran Co., 1909) and Douglas Durkin, The Magpie (Toronto: Hodder and Stoughton, 1923; reprinted University of Toronto Press, 1974). A recent book of photographs which records contemporary life in the North End is John Paskievich, A Place Not Our Own: North End Winnipeg (Winnipeg: Queenston House, 1978).
The immigrant experience in Winnipeg can be compared to the situation in other Canadian cities. An excellent study of Toronto is Robert F. Harney and Harold Troper, Immigrants: A Portrait of the Urban Experience, 1890-1930 (Toronto: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1975). Other materials can be found in Janet Maxwell, et al., Resource List for a Multicultural Society (Toronto: Ministry of Education and Ministry of Culture and Recreation, 1976).